'Hawks can't finish against Oswego East
By Darryl Mellema

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Assessing the health of Oswego East's girls soccer team is a bit of a complex process at the moment, though Monday's 2-0 win over West Aurora was a good dose of medicine no matter how you're judging the Wolves' well-being.

On one hand, there is the physical health of the squad. Oswego East (6-6-1) had a shortened bench against the Blackhawks (6-7-1). In addition to players recovering from injuries or academic ineligibility, the Wolves were without starting goalkeeper Alysen Newton, who was ill. Midway through the first half, they lost Brenna Risch with an ankle injury.

So Oswego East coach Lauren Anderson substituted sparingly in the way a college or professional coach might. Most Wolves played the entire 80 minutes.

One of those who went the distance was Megan Moran. Normally a midfielder, Moran answered the call to wear the goalkeeper's jersey and gloves with Newton ill. The junior handled everything that came her way, with help twice from the goalpost.

“She's a center-mid playing goalkeeper,” Anderson said. “I think she had a few great saves. For not being a keeper, she really stepped up and gave it all she had. And hey, she got a shutout.”

The other way to look at Oswego East's health is in how Monday's result impacts the season to-date. The Wolves are at .500 for the first time since since March 9 when they defeated Glenbard South to improve to 1-1. The first chance to have more wins than losses this season comes Thursday, when the Wolves host Plainfield Central.

“We've been playing better soccer in this middle part,” Anderson said. “The beginning of the season, we started off rough. They have really started to come together as a team lately. It's good for them to earn this win.”

Of the things powering Oswego East's surge is the forward play of Anida Phetchanpheng. A defender earlier in the season, a move to forward has paid dividends. Phetchanpheng scored three of her team's five goals in the Lake Park Invitational and was named to the all-tournament team. She scored again on Monday, netting the match's first goal in the fourth minute of the second half. The goal was the junior's 10th of the season.

“She's the type of player who can play any position and play it well,” Anderson said. “She just knows the game of soccer. She's a smart player and she goes 100 percent every single game. I thought she did great.”

That the match was still scoreless at that point was remarkable. Both teams had strong chances to score in the first half. Oswego's East's series of efforts hit high gear with a quarter-hour to play when Phetchanpheng was taken down in the penalty area, but a penalty kick was not called.

Shortly after, and within seconds of each other Carli Schlaker had a shot saved and Phetchanpheng had a breakaway chance nullified by a Cadmiel Rocha save. In the minutes before halftime, Schlaker had another chance saved, as did Phetchanpheng.

After pushing for the opening goal in the early moments of the second half, Phetchanpheng got the breakthrough from a short shot following a Miranda Lambert pass.

“I feel comfortable because we have a really good midfield and they help me a lot,” Phetchanpheng said. “It really helps me know where I am. I play all around and am really comfortable in any spot.”

After Phetchanpheng's opening goal of the match, Oswego East continued to dominate and added a second goal 5 minutes later. Megan Ross scored her fourth goal of the season with a shot from the right side of the penalty area into the left side netting.

“It's nice, as a team, to score goals,” Ross said. “We've been doing a better job at getting our shots off. Sometimes we don't get our shots off because we like to possess. But we're doing better as a team.”

West Aurora had chances, none better than with 11 minutes left in the first half when Reilly Kulakowski fed Jessica Saffell, and Saffell forced Moran to make a save with her feet.

Saffell came close to scoring 90 seconds after Ross put Oswego East ahead 2-0, but her driven shot hit the post. Two minutes later, Kulakowski hit a free kick that Moran dropped, though the Blackhawks were called for a foul on the Wolves' keeper in the ensuing scramble.

“We've just got to finish our shots,” West Aurora coach Laura Wagley said. “We knew coming in, that we needed to play hard. And for the first 10 minutes, we played awesome. And then we just died out.”

Wagley's team hadn't played since a 5-4 victory at Minooka on Thursday, so fatigue wasn't a factor in the team's play.

“It's just a lack of desire,” Wagley said. “They wanted it more and they got it. We didn't play with any heart and didn't have any leadership out there and it hurt us.”

The Blackhawks were frequently dangerous any time Sam O'Brien took one of her flip throw-ins. The sophomore's throw-ins move at pace into the penalty area but also have an arc to them, allowing players to run onto them like a well-placed cross. But despite aiming a number of O'Brien's throw-ins in the general direction of the goal, Moran and Oswego East's defense dealt with every chance.

“I wish we had that threat as a flip throw,” Anderson said. “It's better than a corner. It's consistent. It's right there. I feel we got lucky in a lot of those situations. Victoria Pecci did a good job clearing. She got her head on a lot of those balls to clear it out. But that was stressful.”

As she often has in four years, Carli Schlaker was a unifying force in Oswego East's midfield against West Aurora.

“She's a very tough player and gives us a lot of opportunities,” Anderson said. “She's one who doesn't quit as well. Being our only senior, she's a big part of this team.”

West Aurora continues a week of nonconference action with a Thursday trip to Oswego and its annual participation in the Rosary Invitational on Saturday.

“We know that we need to start stepping up because everything matters in the postseason,” Wagley said. “I think they all played well. We were possessing and passing. We just weren't finishing our shots.”